Pastor Simon, an EMIT student, has called Olievenhoutbosch home since long before most of its houses were built. He planted his church here in 2001 and watched the community grow around him. With that growth came hard needs, and one has gripped his heart more than any other.
In 2020, just before COVID, Simon began gathering young men trapped in Nyaope addiction - a highly addictive drug made primarily of heroin and marijuana, often laced with additives like antiretrovirals and even rat poison. Many survive as illegal miners, going without food for days and leaning on the drug to keep working, sometimes until it costs them their lives.
Simon cooked for them, prayed with them, and listened. When the pandemic eased, the young men came back. “Pastor, if you leave us, who will help us? We have no hope in anyone.” For Simon, that was God speaking.
Since then, every Tuesday he meets with them to share a meal and remind them they are loved. Some have already broken free. Others still struggle, unable to go home because their addiction once drove them to steal from their own families.
The biggest obstacle now is shelter, there is nowhere safe for those ready to recover. A local councilor has given the church land, and Simon hopes to build a few simple rooms where the willing can heal, supported by pastors and helpers from the community.
Simon’s own story is one of transformation. Raised in a home that worshipped ancestral spirits, he came to Christ in 1986 and never turned back. That same hope shapes how he sees these young men: human beings worthy of love and a future.
A fellow pastor and EMIT graduate introduced Simon to the program. Now in his second year, he speaks warmly about how much he is learning, a lesson on HIV and AIDS stayed with him, and he is already raising up 10 leaders to carry the training into other churches, living out 2 Timothy 2:2.
His prayer is simple: unity among pastors, safety for his community, and restored lives. As he puts it, “When people are suffering, it doesn’t give us rest. We must do something.”
This story first appeared in the EMIT Newsletter, Second Quarter 2026.
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